Button



Dec. 15 1925- w. E. ELLIOTT BUTTON Filed May '12, 1920 Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

units. s tar.

eater Pris. I

WILLIAM E. ELLIOTT, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BUTTON 8r, FASTENERCQ, F AUGUSTA, MAENE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE. I

BUTTON.

Application filed May 12, 1920. Serial No. 380,838.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM E. ELLIOTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Tmprovements in Buttons, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification,

like reference characters on the drawings 19 indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to buttons, and particularlyto those of the type employed upon footwear. A. desirable'button of this kind is disclosed in the patent issued to me on November 28, 1916, No. ,1,206,755,this having a contracted neck, which, whenthe article, as a shoe, uport which it is used is buttoned, positions itself in the buttonhole, andholdsthe wire of the button eye out of contact with the material in which the buttonhole is formed. The use of such a but ton is highly advantageous in decreasing wear upon the buttonhole and in facilitating the unbuttoning of the shoe. To some extent, however, the neck, by its wedging effect upon the buttonhole, tends to cause accidental unbuttoning of the shoe. Moreover, since it is circular in section, the neck may turn in the buttonhole in the working of the shoe upon the foot, and thus cause the eye to twist and rub against the edge of the button-fly and wear it.

An object of my invention is to furnish a button, which, while possessing the desirable features of the patented button, will occupy less space laterally of the buttonhole, and will hold the eye against movement over the edge of said buttonhole. In the attainment of, this object, reduced portions are formed in the neck of the button at opposite sides, preferably adjacent to the eye and parallel to its plane. These reduced portions so thin the neck that its opening effect upon the buttonhole becomes negligible, and by interrupting the circular form of the neck hold it against rotation in the buttonhole, and the eye is thereby prevented from injuring the material in which said buttonhole is made.

The accompanying drawing illustrates one embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 1 being a side elevation of the improved button;

Fig. 2, a similar View, taken at right angles to Fig. l; and

Fig. 3, a horizontal section on the line H of Fig. 1.

what longer than that shown in the patent,

enabling it to better rest within buttonholes in relatively thick button flies without causing tension upon the button. Viewed in elevation, it is to be noted that the neck, adjacent to the head, is concave, it merging into the edge l l to form an ogee-curve. The outer extremity of the neck at 18 is more nearly straight, or curved upon a larger radius than that portion next the head. Projecting from the neck is some such attaching means as an eye 20, shown as wire, having shank portions 22, 22 embedded within the head. The outer sides of the eye at the points of greatest separation are inclined inwardly toward and are substantially alined with the straighter portion 18 of the neck, exerting a tendency to hold the material of the buttonhole in engagement with the neck only and out of contact with the eye.

The neck 16 is reduced adjacent to the eye, preferably to form at opposite sides depressions 24, 2%. These depressions are symmetrically arranged with respect to the axis of symmetry of the button, and extend in a direction parallel to the plane of the eye. Preferably, their contour is substantially that produced by cutting away the neck along the surfaces of cylinders of relatively large diameter, the axes of which cylinders are parallel to the eyes and lie at right angles to the axis of the button. The extent of intersection may be such that the ends of the depressions join the outer surface of the neck at 26 adjacent to the junctures of the eye and neck. The inner edges 28 of the depressions lie at points in the neck not far removed from the head, and the outer edges 30 approach closely to the eye, so that the neck here is not much thicker than the diameter of the wire from which the eye is constructed.

Buttons are ordinarily so attached, that when they engage a buttonhole, the eye lies naturally Without twisting longitudinally of the slot portion of the buttonhole. With my improved button, it will be seen that, Without sacrificing the superior qualities of maintenance of the eye out of contact with the button-fly material and facility With Which the unbuttoning may be accomplished with a neck-button of Patent No. 1,206,755, the sides of the buttonhole slot are separated by a little more than the thickness of the eye, While the seating of the edges of the slot in the depressions holds the button firmly against turning about its axis. As a result of this, accidental unbuttoning by the separating effect of, the neck is guarded against, and the eye is prevented from rubbing over the material containing the buttonhole. The security of closure of the shoe and its durability are thus increased.

Having described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A button comprising a convex head and a concave neck merging into the head and arranged to lie Within a co-operating buttonhole, there being reduced portions at opposite sides of the neck, and attaching means for the head and neck.

2. A button comprising a head and a neck symmetrically disposed about an axis, there being reduced portions at opposite sides of the neck symmetrically related to the axis, these portions presenting surfaces generally corresponding to the surfaces of cylinders, and attaching means for the head and neck.

3. A button comprising a convex head, a concave neck, and attaching means, there being opposite parallel. depressions in the concave portion.

at. A button having a head, a neck and an eye projecting from the neck, there being opposite depressions in the neck adjacent to the eye.

5. A button comprising a head, a neck and an eye projecting from the neck, there being depressions in the neck extending in a direction parallel to the plane of the eye.

6. A button comprising a head, a neck and an eye entering opposite sides of the neck, there being depressions in the neck terminating near the entering points of the eye.

7. A button comprising a head, a neck and an eye entering opposite sides of the neck, there being depressions in the neck extending at their edges into proximity With the sides of the eye.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

WILLIAM E. ELLIOTT. 

